Before we get started, here’s some facts:
Michael Nelson Trout, born August 7, 1991, is quite possibly the most amazing baseball player who has ever laced up. Period. He’s 27 years old and he keeps getting better every year. A man who has never been outside of the top three in MVP voting SINCE HIS ROOKIE SEASON and routinely makes some of the greatest players in the game look like fools is getting better.
I know, I know. He plays for the Angels. He has an insane workout routine, he takes care of himself, Babe Ruth ate five hot dogs, took a snort of booze and bed down a hooker before he came to the field, blah blah blah.
I don’t care.
If you have had the pleasure, nay, the LIFE CHANGING opportunity to watch this humble weatherman who plays baseball for a living in person, you know this is bunk.
The kid is dynamite.
He’s 6’2″, 235 pounds but he’s built like a brick wall. He’s what the kids call “thicc”. He’s sturdy as a redwood but runs like Usain Bolt and leaps like Dr. J. The guy is magnetic. He steals bases with ease and crushes elite pitchers’ hopes and dreams much like he crushes their two seamers.
And he’s only getting better.
Haters say it’s fake, but we know the truth, and it’s this simple fact. Mike Trout is someone we will never ever see again. He deserves every bit of praise he gets, and then some. He’s a good man in an increasingly depressing sports landscape and he’s honestly the greatest baseball player I have ever seen in my entire life.
All hail the GOAT. All hail the King.
Fan Interference 
If he keeps playing for that curmudgeonly clown Moreno, he may be remembered as the greatest player since Ernie Banks never to sniff a postseason.
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This is one of the few times I’ll ever say this but I’m pretty sure that even with this contract he’s underpaid. He’s everything you could dream of in a ball player. He’s a master at pretty much every aspect of the game. He never takes a day off. He doesn’t seem to have any Cronin injury issues. And if all that wasn’t enough, he’s a really good person too. I can’t recall any time he’s mouthed off or gotten into a fight. He seems to be a great clubhouse guy. If he has an ego he keeps it to himself. He took a very team friendly contract the last time around instead of flirting with free agency. He’s signing this deal with two more years left on his current deal. He could easily have held out for more money. He hasn’t thrown and fits or gotten into a fight with a umpire or reporter. He isn’t in the papers for any of the wrong reasons. He doesn’t seem to have any illegitimate kids running around. No history of legal trouble. He keeps his head down and just plays ball. Better than just about anyone who’s ever played the game. The only real knock against him is that he plays a majority of his games in a time zone where a significant part of MLB viewership is unable to watch him.
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You all make good points, Scout. One addition: great talents frequently portray themselves as inherently better, stronger, etc. Objectively we all realize it takes a lot of work, too. The rookie Trout was seen as an exceptional outfielder. The following year he still had the leaping catches but modern statheads found he was less of a defensive gem. Trout said he took pride in his defense and began to study opposing hitters closely.
He made small adjustments to his positioning based on opponents history. You see, opponent A was likely to hit deep against fastballs and to Trout’s right on curves, like that. Adjusting his position increased his success – more outs.
Consider all the raves he was getting for his offense, and still using his speed to run down lots of balls, and the general resistance of most players to criticism from outside the field and clubhouse. Yet he saw the point of the modern measurements. He took the time to study individual opponents tendencies to better his likelihood of defensive success. That’s serious work. That’s determination to succeed. That’s using the brain for more than a cap holder.
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And I don’t think I’ve ever seen him flip his bat after crushing some pitcher’s best offering. That’s un-natcheral…
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I think have once or twice, but even that seems … Not egotistical?
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